the birthday celebrations at school are quite possibly the most touching thing a parent or grandparent could experience. images of cupcakes and party hats and traditional birthday songs are replaced with meaningful tributes, deep emotions, and powerful learning. the celebration starts with the class walking in a circle quietly following the teacher and then stops. everyone sits where they are standing and the birthday child is asked to come to the middle of the circle. here is owen's celebration:
owen's teacher mrs. root
first lit a candle for owen. this represented the sun and placed centrally. then owen was given 4 seasons to place around the sun and the children sang a season song. next, owen placed all the months near their seasons as the children sang a song about the months of the year. next owen was given a model of earth to hold. this represented him and his place in the world. here is where is gets good. referring to the timeline poster i made for owen...i showed the picture of owen as a baby and told something about him when he was born. then owen walked around the "sun" and we all said "it took 365 days and nights for owen to become 1" then i was able to show the picture of owen as a one-year old and spoke of him...then he walked the "years" again until he was 6. they then will sing a song about how he impacts history and typically will sing happy birthday in the 3 languages they learn at school english, spanish, and chinese. owen then blew out the candle and we as a family presented a gift to the class in his honor--last year a fish for the aquarium this year a birdfeeder for their playground. it is just such a fabulous celebration! owen was so happy! he came over and gave me a BIG hug right in front of his class at the end! gosh i love him!
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